Social Media's Reaction to the Death of Otto Warmbier

Hate Unfolded in the Comments Section on Facebook Following Warmbier's Death

In a recent Fox News article reporting on a college professor's suggestive article in response to Otto Warmbier's death, Otto was condemned by the professor who stated "He went to North Korea for f---'s sake."

Many are outraged by the professor's unsettling response. However, many members of Facebook commented on the article in agreement with the professor.

Otto's Death Response Somehow Sparked Racism

In the comments section of the Fox New's article, racism was mentioned by many users. Many African-American users such as Malcolm in the screenshot above felt that Otto's death was justified because he is a "entitled white American."

It may have been okay to say Otto was entitled. After all, Otto had to be well off to go on such an extravagant trip to Asia. Most Americans can barely afford to travel to the nearest beach, much less another continent. However, why does this user have to bring race into it? Imagine if the roles were reversed (Otto was black) and people were commenting and saying that he was just a black thug. This user would've likely been outraged.

Sadly, people only feel that racism exists when a white person is talking poorly about a black person. Why can't people just see that an American was killed by a tyrannical regime? Why does it have to be a "white" American? Think of how up-in-arms African-Americans would have been had Otto been a black man.

Some Users Even Felt Otto's Death Helped to Settle the Score

In the above screenshot, a Facebook user commented and basically stated that white people do not care when black men are killed in this country. I'm assuming she is referring to the recent police shootings that have happened over the past few years.

It is absurd to say that white people do not care about black men being killed by the police. Just look at the picture below where UNC students had a "die-in" protest against the slaying of Michael Brown. Most of the people in this photo who were protesting are white.

I'm sure that the lady who made the comment took about as much time to research the number of whites who protest police brutality as she did on learning how to spell or form sentences. Her grammar was very poor.

Source

Final Thoughts

It's 2017 and the nation has never been so divided. People in America can't agree on anything. Otto was given the death penalty for stealing a poster. It's scary to think that so many believe that there is justification to this and that some would even use race to justify it! Yes, many African-Americans have died at the hands of cruel white Americans. Wrongful death on one side can't be cured with wrongful death on the other side. And why are people taking sides? This is America. There should only be one side!

Otto was reported to have stolen a piece of paper likely worth less than fifty cents and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. The punishment doesn't fit the crime. It doesn't matter what color he is. Nobody deserves that harsh of a punishment. There is also some speculation out there that Otto did not even steal the poster. According the to Washington Post, Otto was forced to make a public confession stating that he stole the poster. So did he steal the poster? We will likely never know the answer to that question. North Korean officials could have planted the poster on him or he could have bought it from someone in the streets as a souvenir. North Korea may have just been using Otto to scare U.S. citizens.

North Korea has been known to force foreign visitors to make confessions for other crimes such as spying and assassination attempts. Take Kim Dong-Chul for example, who made a confession saying that he was a paid South Korean spy. He was 62 years old when he made that confession. South Korea can surely hire younger spies.

The Professor was Fired

You Decide!

How do you feel about Otto Warmbier's Death?

Otto Warmbier should have known better. He got what he deserved.

The punishment was harsh and his death was the result of an evil regime.

Don't waste your time, you'll only get deeper into his abyss of conspiracy delusions and frankly outright lies like Americans, all of whom he believes are racists, massacred native Americans when the truth is the vast majority of Indian deaths was from diseases they were not immune to. Reparations he likes to mention ignoring the tens of thousands of union soldiers who died to set the slaves free. If you read as much of his insane rantings as I have you would not be surprised if he were to walk into a "white" establishment and gun down every American he could. Really, you have no idea of what a delusional mind who rants hatefully like he does can do.

Author

Jeff Vickery 11 months agofrom Somewhere, Arkansas

So you are indigenous and white at the same time? Are you unsure of your race? You also think that companies that profited from slavery should have to pay slaves. There are two issues with this.

One, any person that has ever been legally enslaved in the U.S. is now long dead. Their children are also long dead. Their grandchildren are long dead. The children after them are close to it if not long dead. Generations after them have had many opportunities to recover since then. Fining or suing these companies for enslaving black ancestors only hurts the young, current generation owners who for the most part, are people just like you and me: middle class stockholders or stakeholders. So yes, fining or suing these companies does hurt poor whites such as myself.

The second issue is that there are no legal grounds to sue or fine these companies. Slavery was a LEGAL institution. Yes, it was WRONG. Don't try and twist my words. You can't sue or fine a person or entity when they did not break the law. Those slaves were property just like a car or a house and those companies and people that owned slaves lost a lot of money when they were forced to give them up. Slaves were expensive. Again, I think slavery is wrong so don't go shaming me.

Ronnie wrenchBiscuit 11 months ago

No, you don't read and comprehend very well. I have clearly stated my case. I am also white, and it is clear that you think all white people have been blinded to the truth. I assure you I do not hate myself, nor my mother. But yes, I have a strong dislike for ignorant people who speak about subjects of which they have no true knowledge.

Howard Zinn was a white man, and I suggest you read his book "A People's History of the United States". You obviously are confused about what it means to be filled with the truth as opposed to being filled with hate. But such accusations are a common resort when someone has no argument to counter the truth.

Author

Jeff Vickery 11 months agofrom Somewhere, Arkansas

You are obviously against white people. You should just come out and say it. I can read between the lines and see the hate.

Author

Jeff Vickery 11 months agofrom Somewhere, Arkansas

I'm sorry when you said "And from the perspective of an educated person of African descent" I was assuming you were meaning that you have African blood in you instead of you just speaking for African-Americans.

Ronnie wrenchBiscuit 11 months ago

You should take the time to read a post before you comment. I clearly stated that I am Indigenous. Furthermore, it doesn't matter whether he stole anything or not. What matters is that he willingly went of his own free will to a country that is known to be hostile toward the United States. His sense of white privilege apparently made him feel invincible.

Now concerning your past: Growing up in a trailer has nothing to do with white privilege.A poor white person has many advantages over a black person, especially if they overcome their poverty. A black person cannot overcome a system of oppression simply by succeeding in business, or any other endeavor that may elevate him financially. He will still have black skin, and will be treated accordingly.

Like many white people engaged in this type of debate you bring a strawman to the table by suggesting that "I" have thrown "all" white people into a particular category. Although that suits your false narrative that is not what I have done. I have simply spoken of my own experience in Hawaii. And that was, and I am sure still is, a common experience there. And finally, by stating that there is, or should be just "one America" indicates your own sense of white privilege. You have subscribed to the fiction of Manifest Destiny, and so expect that the whole world should be in step with your fantasy of a brotherhood of man, and your denial of the evil that the U.S. was founded upon.

If the white man truly wants to sit down at the table, then he must bring more than kind words. From one perspective there is 500 years of reparations owed to the descendants of slaves. And I'm not talking about poor whites owing money. I'm talking about wealthy businesses and institutions like Harvard, Lehman Brothers,Aetna, Inc., Brown Brothers Harriman, and Wachovia Bank who directly profited from the slave trade. And I am not simply talking about monetary reparations, but also an end to red lining, as well as 500 years of head of the line privileges in education and employment. There is also the matter of stolen land, resources, and broken treaties that must be settled with the Indigenous Nations.

Author

Jeff Vickery 11 months agofrom Somewhere, Arkansas

But you don't know whether he actually stole the poster or not. He was forced to confess. You have no idea how harsh NK treats their political prisoners. They will beat, starve, and threaten just to get someone to confess to something they did not even do and if you would have read my article, you would have seen where I touched on that. You, being of African descent should understand more than anyone how it feels to be blamed for something that you didn't do whether it be you or someone you know. You throw all white people in a pool together and say we all act like this, yet I do not. Never do I go anywhere and act like I own the place. I always treat everyone with respect no matter their race or social status. I am not privileged either. I was born on government assistance and my family lived in a trailer house for many years until they could afford a better home.

Ronnie wrenchBiscuit 11 months ago

The fact that a number of white people protest against racism in America is not remarkable. White people were protesting against slavery during the antebellum. John Brown gave up his life in support of the cause. But that does not speak for the majority of white Americans then or now. When a black person is killed by the police or a white terrorist we can invariably expect to hear excuses from the white mainstream.

First of all they will bring up whatever "criminal" record they can find in order to paint the victim as less than innocent. And in the case of Tamir Rice, since he had no criminal record, the excuses ranged from "he looked big for his age" , to" It looked like a real gun he was holding". And as I expected, the miscreant killer cop was not charged. Sandra Bland was lynched in jail and no one has yet been charged. The list of innocent victims of color murdered by the police is very long. Regardless of how many white people may appear to be protesting, the status quo remains the same.

I do not believe in the death penalty, regardless of the crime. Nor do I believe in government, since I embrace an Anarchist philosophy. I will continue by pointing out that I do not believe in brutality in any measure. However, Otto Warmbier is a victim of his own sense of white privilege. I saw this happening in real life when I was stationed in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor in the 70's. It wasn't unusual for white sailors to get beat downs from the locals on a regular basis. But as an Indigenous person I never had a problem . Neither did I notice black sailors having the same problem as whites. It was the sense of white privilege that caused most of the violence against white sailors. They came to Hawaii with the attitude that the islands "belonged" to them. But there were many who found out the hard way that it just wasn't so.

It was Otto's sense of white privilege and youthful naivete that caused his death. If he would have taken the time to study world history he would have understood the justifiable hatred North Koreans have for the United States, as nearly 2 million innocent civilians were killed by U.S. forces during the Korean War. And the fact that you suggest there is only one America speaks to your own naivete and arrogance. From an Indigenous perspective this has never been the America you believe in. This is Cemanahuac, Turtle Island, a stolen continent. And from the perspective of an educated person of African descent, there is nothing wonderful, or admirable about a system of oppression that has lasted for over 500 years.

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